[Simon Garratt]

Hi Guys...

Just back from IMAC, had a foooooooookin fantastic time, and came back with some goodies.

namely a set of twin Arc 400W halide lamps with the 10K/20K combo.


I'll be trying these out over the next few weeks etc, so once they have burnt in and done a hundred hours on each Arc, I'll take a few readings...


Fired up the 10K side this morning after jumping off the plane, and its a very nice crisp white rather than a yellow white, so the visual mix on the 10K side seems quite good, and on initial observation, they do seem a tad brighter than my 6 month old BLV 400w 10K's


More to follow soon, but in the mean time have a read of this.


Twin Arc Halides


Regards

Simon.

[lindsay]

Welcome back Si ,glad you had a good one m8 and will catch up on gossip when your down this way next .

I'm a liking the Bulb i take it this is the one you mentioned last time you were down .

I'm Fitting 2x 400w 6500ks and 2x 250 20000ks to the new system when i get back .

Looking at this can you find out if there's a 6500k and 20000k in the making


chat soon m8


jas

[Simon Garratt]

I can ask Joyce from ALS when i speak to her next Linds.....Im not sure there will (i can see the benefits....just not sure the great reefkeeping public would)....but its a good idea.

Difficult to say what the most popular mix would be so I might bang a Poll up to get some feedback.


Regards

Si.

[ben]

never heard of those bulbs before. whats the pros and cons?

[karnivor]

I would imagine that the 10k side would last much longer than the 20k. Does this not mean that you have effectively only got a 20k lifespan on the bulb, which may make it an expensive option.

[chriss]

If I read it correctly, it switches between arc tube each time the power cycles

Quote

The arc tubes of the Twinarc do not fire simultaneously but instead, they are fired in alternation each time the lamp is turned on and off.

So whats the benefit/use/advantage of that ?

Chris

[Simon Garratt]

The benefits are very simple.

You can run a very high PAR (but possibly less aesthetically pleasing) source for periods when the tank is lit but you arnt there, and then switch to a higher kelvin rating when you are there so the tank is more pleasing to the eye, hopefully the higher kelvin period will exite the better pigments whilst the lower induces better growth...

basically it offers you both light sources in one package rather than adding in more lamps, starters, reflectors etc at considerably more cost as a complete set up.


As for life span, you are effectively doubling the usable lifespan of the lamp as a complete unit (if you were running it 50/50 time wise) so it realy is two lamps in one.

As for the difference in laife between a 10K envelope and a 20k, thats pretty imaterial imo.....basically you would replace these every two years rather than every year with a comparable amount of shift over that period compared to a single envelope lamp.

Regards

Si.

[Simon Garratt]

Quote

So whats the benefit/use/advantage of that ?

Its not been tested yet as far as im aware, but running both lamps at the same time would probably lead to exessive heating of the envelopes in such a tight confine, plus you would need a complcated double starter and ballast combo running to one lamp.


Si.

[lindsay]

Very clever ,gives you the performance of 10k and the viewing pleasure of the 20k all in one lamp .I can see that making a lot of reefers very happy ,where do i get my one .
Sounds like your trip went well si.

[ben]

oh i didnt realise it was 2 different kelvins in one bulb. great idea. it will be interesting to see your readings in a few months si.

[Simon Garratt]

Quote

Sounds like your trip went well si.

You have no idea jason...


Lets just say, Ive got a very full shedule for quite a while now, some funky products to try and introduce to the Uk, some new magazine contacts etc etc..

and to top it all off, i had a fantastic time with all the speakers over there..(including having Eric.B curled up at a story i told him about my early days with closed loops)

The whole ethos was one of helping each other, helping other reefers, passing advice and opinion, admitting errors, etc etc..


When you have one speaker do a talk with 5 or more others sat there as well, all chirping in during the Q&A session covering differing areas of expertise, the listener realy does get thier money's worth.

I'll bang up some pics tomorow once ive had a chance to offload them..


anybody fancy a shot of the only Clipperton Angel in captivity...


Si.

[lindsay]

Sounds great ,look forward to the pics.

[reefyman]

interested in these as well as long as the build quality and longevity of spectrum turn out to be good.bloody reeflux just had one of mine 3 months old suddenly decide its a 20k instead of 10k.not happy.

[Social D]

This is whats putting my off getting excited about them its bad enough when you splash out the best part of 70 quid for a white bulb that turns pink then blows up after three months ,Heaven knows what colour your end up with if these decide to change spectrum, If these are the same price as normal ones not so much a problem , But no doubt they wont be, anything over a 100 quid and they can go in somebodys else tank, Ill stick with T5's.


Nice inevent idea but at what cost?

[jason@jasonsaquatics]

Had Si in Yesterday and i have a lot of hope these lights will be a move forward

Not sure why your having so many probs with the reeflux Quigs as we run nothing but and don't get problems with them ,maybe there's an issue with the ballasts or maybe even the length of the cable from the mains to the ballast

Jas

[karnivor]

bumpety bump.
Any updates?

[lindsay]

Dont think they are on sale in the UK yet but are in the states poss,try to find out next week.